For those reading here ... My time is all changed, being over in Israel for these next 11 or so days. It's now a little after 5am on 2/11 over here; but I'll post as if it's 2/10 since it's evening in the USA. I'm sorry for any confusion from you who're faithfully following this blog ...
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2009 – Day 40.Feb.10 –
Passage of the Day: Genesis 48: 5; 10 – 11; 14 - 26 … Genesis 48 available at this link ...
My Journal for Today: This is a touching and significant scene, which is lost, to a great degree, on today’s western culture. In today’s passages, we read of the final days of the Patriarch of Joseph’s family; and in this scenario old Jacob calls the two sons of Joseph to his side. And then a most significant thing happens.
Old Israel gives his blessing to these two young men, who, because of Joseph’s age couldn’t have been all that old. Most interpretations of this section of Genesis would be translated to indicate that Jacob actually “adopts” the two, Ephraim and Manasseh, a custom of the day for a grandfather to give power to his deathbed blessing. And in these final days, Jacob gives his personal family blessing on the sons of Joseph; and this is a family passage which unfortunately is being lost in our culture. And I personally believe that many of our social ills, the violence in our society, our crowded prisons, and evils of such things as the sex industry and the proliferation of gangs can be traced to the void created when fathers do not pass along the family “blessing” to their children.
Our fatherless families in our world may be the one significant variable which leads to all the ills mentioned above and more. In today’s scripture passage, we see the powerful blessing of a grandfather which added to an already strong relationship which was obvious between Joseph and his boys. And if you follow the lives of these two boys through their future, you would see that this blessing has lasting and powerful impact on the boys.
Though I’m in my 60s as I write this, I’ve discovered that it’s never too late to give your blessing to your kids, especially your sons or grandsons. Yes, we need to verbally, and with the close touch of hugs, tell our sons or grandsons (or the girls as well), “I love you; and I bless you; and I’ll always be there for you.” I’ll almost guarantee you that if you dismiss this powerful principle, thinking that this can’t be all that important, you are gambling with the future of your progeny by ignoring this biblically illustrated family truth.
Go ahead, … just ignore your kids; … don’t give them the blessing of your time and your hugs; … and sit back and watch to see how their lives unfold. And if they turn out to find gangs of kids to run with, or to seek out aberrant sex, or to replace those lost hugs with drugs or alcohol, … don’t blame me; and certainly you can’t blame God’s word. Because the truths are right there in the family manual of all time.
You’ve been forewarned by me … and by God in his word.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I thank you for bringing this into my life before it was too late; and now I’m blessed to pass along those hugs and blessings to my grandchildren. Amen
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